Chinglish First Preview — Page 2

Thanks...I figured that was the case. I think as long as it's VERY clear to the audience going in/buy tickets that there will be subtitles for a good bit of it, then they're fine.

I recently went to a film that had a lot of flashbacks in a foreign language and heard people giving the movie theatre box office a hard time asking for the exact percentage that was in subtitles and that was just for a movie.

I know my dad has eight different kinds of glasses for different things, so it's people like him I think about not getting into reading them. I don't mind them at all, though.

Saw it yesterday afternoon. It lost steam near the end of the first act, picked up steam at the beginning of the second act and kind of fizzled near the end. There were a number of good laughs but it isn't really the laugh-fest the ads seem to be promoting. The acting is pretty solid all the way around and the subtitles are no problem at all. I sat all the way upstairs and read them just fine. And that's good because they provide a lot of the laughs. You have to pay attention or you could get a bit confused over what is happening.

I have to say that I expected something a bit different but I am not sure what I expected! I didn't expect the story that it tells, although I enjoyed it. The set is pretty cool and I really liked the music enough to seek out someone from the production to ask about the composer. The show feels as if it needs to be tightened up or something. It could also use a few more laughs at the end of both acts.

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bsf, sorry I didn't see your question in the other thread. I went to Theatermania and used their discount. Printed it out and went to the box office. Just a warning, the Longacre has poles up in the balcony and I was seated behind one. They aren't wide but they are distracting. They are kind of in the center of the balcony section. Not a lot of them. I was able to move, thank goodness.

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You are most welcome!

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Also saw it last night. It was just OK. Some very funny moments, but the first act ran way too long. Overall, last night's performance ran 2:05-2:10, so they've definitely gotten the running time down. I enjoyed the lead actor and actress. The set was very impressive.

Updated On: 10/20/11 at 01:16 PM

The NYT published an interesting feature on Hwang today, which hits some of the "what is this play even about" points I think people are struggling with and also highlights the financial risk being taken: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/theater/david-henry-hwangs-chinglish.html?pagewanted=2&hpw

It's going to be a tough sell, no doubt, but I'm very glad the producers are willing to try. An interesting case study in how to advertise a new, original show with no stars (except the playwright), and a lot of nervous-making qualities. I haven't seen any of the TV ads- can anyone provide a link? The girl I saw it with was brought in on the strength of the commercials, but didn't know what to expect other than a comedy. I suspect she didn't enjoy it as much as I did; she also doesn't understand any Chinese, and I'm wondering if that's causal.

Can I ask if anyone else who's seen it does? It's not an excuse, and would be a massive liability for the show if true, but it seems like the show may be an example of the cultural differences between east and west, instead of just a discussion of such.

Last note, the difficulties of translation aren't simply in the realm of transliteration, but in the difficulty of business and personal relations when each side holds different motives and expectations and can't (or doesn't know to) communicate those to the other.

Yes and obviously it's working for some people whether or not they speak Chinese, and I hope it will for more. I already noted that you have to read the titles even if you're fluent because you simply can't hear all the lines. I'm just trying to figure out what's missing or getting lost or maybe completely not there, and if it can be fixed at all. Humor is subjective, of course, but that doesn't mean it's insensitive to medium.

Additionally, knowing some Chinese would mean one has familiarity with the tonal issues and can follow the path of how certain things get mistranslated. Actually I'll expand the question to posters who speak any other language(s). Idioms are shockingly if non-obviously difficult to translate.

It's really funny..

It's as if someone took the idea of this:

And made it into a play- a smart, funny, and sexy play.

Except the play uses real Chinese words, not these made-up words, and they change it around so that the Chinese terms are said and then translated into English to mean something similar yet completely wrong. You just have to see it.